Thursday, June 26, 2014

Hannah - Madrid Week 6

Hi everyone,
Last week I participated in an intercambio, which is essentially an opportunity for people to get together and practice speaking different languages. Katie and I met up with a recent university graduate from Madrid, who wanted to practice her English before a job interview. We went to a popular restaurant and first ordered some churros and chocolate, which I had been wanting to try since I’ve arrived in Madrid. We spent an hour talking about where we’re all from but the most interesting part of the conversation for me was when we shared some of the difficulties we always have with our non-native language. The girl from Madrid told us that she could never tell the difference between the words “bear,” “bird,” and “beard.” For native speakers, it’s hardly a problem but hearing some of her experiences made me realize that English is a very frustrating language!

El Mundial
Those who have been following the World Cup should know now that Spain, the last World Cup champion, is out of the competition. After weeks of anticipation and excitement for what I had expected would be several weeks of intense soccer matches, Spain was kicked out by the Netherlands and Chile. This came as a big shock to everyone but now I’ll just have to keep cheering for the United States and (possibly) Korea! The only amusing thing is that on TV commercials and advertisements on the street, companies have already released advertising campaigns that focus on the World Cup. I keep seeing a men’s razor commercial that glorifies Spain’s last World Cup victory but it’s obvious that no one had anticipated that Spain wouldn’t advance. Other than that, however, this early exit is very disappointing.
I’m just hoping that I can still keep cheering on some teams after the USA and Korea games on Thursday!


Hasta luego!
Hannah

2 comments:

  1. Never heard of churros.... Would be nice if you had a picture.
    It is interesting how different mother tongue gives different troubles.
    I would assume bear/bird/beard does not give as much trouble as ear/year difference..

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  2. Hannah,

    Learning about a person's troubles with the English language is extremely eye opening. It is also comforting at the same time because the troubles you have with Spanish (may seem just as trivial as bear/bird/beard to them), but they are a real obstacle to you. I totally understand! I always struggle with por vs. para, but I'm sure that isn't an issue for native speakers! I guess it would kind of be like too/two/to for us... hmmm...

    I was very surprised that Spain was knocked out, but that's okay. Another intern in Madrid wrote about the King's Coronation. Have you experienced much regarding that? How is work going??

    Best,
    Tammy

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